The Scandalous Actress Needs to Strive GL - Chapter 14

After the car was parked in the underground lot, Mu Qingchen walked straight ahead, not sparing a glance for Qiu Wan behind her, and directly pressed the elevator button.

Qiu Wan opened her mouth as she followed, but finally just stood silently in front of the other elevator door. The grace of an adult means being sensible.

Mu Qingchen’s elevator door opened first. President Mu still walked in without looking at anyone. Seeing that the person beside her hadn’t moved, her eyes flickered slightly, and she tried hard to ignore the hint of discomfort in her heart.

Qiu Wan watched the adjacent elevator door close out of the corner of her eye, then re-pressed the elevator button herself. Arriving a few minutes later, the two reached the company one after the other.

In the CEO’s office, about five minutes after Mu Qingchen entered, Qiu Wan also walked in.

Yu Baishu then led the three of them to a nearby meeting room. Mu Qingchen sat directly in the main seat, while Qiu Wan and Jin Wen sat on her left and right.

Jin Wen adjusted her glasses, wondering why Mu Qingchen had followed them in. Contracts like this could usually be handled directly by the agent.

But she was smart enough not to say anything. Instead, she took out the contract and placed it on the table, then looked at Qiu Wan and said, “This is the new contract drafted by the company. If you have any requests, you can bring them up.”

Qiu Wan had already seen the contract once, and Mu Qingchen, as the person who personally drafted this contract, naturally knew the content like the back of her hand. Of course, the two people in front of her didn’t know that this contract came from President Mu’s pen.

Qiu Wan roughly glanced at it; it was the same as what she had seen last time, with no changes. It was just that the duration was still a bit long ten years.

Jin Wen waited patiently. Seeing that Qiu Wan seemed to be deep in thought, she didn’t interrupt. It was Mu Qingchen who felt a little anxious. She subconsciously looked at the contemplative Qiu Wan. Why was this woman still hesitating? She knew the details of the contract she wrote best; every clause was written according to the treatment of the company’s first-tier female artists. Other people would beg for a contract like this, but this woman was still hesitating to sign.

Thinking back to last night, Qiu Wan’s words implied considerable apprehension toward Zhou Lanlan. Although the Zhou Corporation’s standing in the entertainment industry was second only to the Mu Corporation, it was still easy to blacklist someone, but only if that person was not part of the Mu Corporation.

With this thought, she slightly frowned, and then, like a superior who cares about the company’s future, she analyzed methodically: “From a domestic perspective, the resources, status, reputation, and development prospects of Mu Corporation Entertainment are unmatched by other companies. The most important thing is, as long as you can bring benefits to the company, and as long as you are not an artist with a tainted reputation, no matter what happens, no matter who tries to make trouble for you, our Mu Corporation will do everything in its power to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the company and its artists. So, if there are no problems, please sign.”

This sudden speech made Qiu Wan put down the contract in her hand. She looked at the woman in front of her with the cold expression. Was she really eager for her to sign with the Mu Corporation? Judging from the current situation, apparently yes. The contents of the contract were very favorable to the current Qiu Wan it was practically equivalent to the Mu Corporation sending a bargain right to her doorstep.

So, what was the Mu Corporation Entertainment’s objective?

Did they know about her performance on the set of ‘Grand Song Chief Historian’ and thus think she was a potentially valuable artist they wanted to invest in? Or was it simply because of Mu Qingchen, because she was President Mu’s bed partner?

Qiu Wan knew that rationally, she should hope for the first reason, as that would prove her capability, but she secretly hoped in her heart that this contract wasn’t only because of the first reason.

She looked at the somewhat inexplicably solemn Mu Qingchen, letting out a silent, slight chuckle, and said, “If President Mu thinks there’s no problem, then I have no problem. I’ll be relying on Sister Jin in the future.”

“Not at all. This is my responsibility and obligation as an agent. I’ll be relying on your cooperation in the future as well.”

Jin Wen said this while standing up and shaking hands with Qiu Wan. Then, the two of them calmly signed the contract. Afterward, Mu Qingchen stamped it, and the signing was a done deal.

Jin Wen’s smile was professional, but her heart was already in turmoil. Was this the aloof President Mu she had heard of? The person who seemed indifferent on the surface but whose words sounded more eager than anyone, as if the Mu Corporation was begging Qiu Wan to sign, was their CEO?

One must know that at the negotiating table, making promises or guarantees like that immediately puts one at a disadvantage.

This simple logic she believed that Mu Qingchen, as the head of the Mu Corporation, should have understood it after years of experience, no matter how hopeless she might have been.

Yet, she didn’t. She didn’t put the company’s interests in the most important position; instead, she placed Qiu Wan in the most important position.

Normally, a contract renewal like this would be signed by the agent and the artist, then submitted layer by layer, and finally sealed by the company to be official.

But looking at the situation now, their President Mu was holding the stamp, practically begging for the signature. Where was the demeanor of a large corporation?

Of course, as an experienced and smooth gold medal agent, Jin Wen concealed all her speculations in her heart. Then, she casually looked at Qiu Wan and said, “To celebrate our successful signing, why don’t we go for a drink tonight? President Mu, do you have time to grace us with your presence?”

What successful signing, what a drink the important thing was the last sentence. She wasn’t an idiot. At 35, and having spent more than a decade navigating the entertainment industry, she already possessed the ability to see through social norms.

In that case, having herself assigned as Qiu Wan’s agent seemed justifiable. She didn’t have many other titles, but she was known in the industry for being efficient, especially in protecting her artists, with a reputation for never pimping them out.

But this time, she thought she would be very happy to pull that thread.

Jin Wen smiled warmly as she looked at the two. Unsurprisingly, Mu Qingchen nodded, and Qiu Wan likewise gracefully nodded.

After Jin Wen left, Qiu Wan looked at Mu Qingchen, a look of hesitation on her face. She recalled the night they first met. Finally, after choosing her words carefully, she asked, “Qingchen wants to drink? If I’m not around in the future, please don’t go out and drink with others, okay?”

She didn’t know who Mu Qingchen was originally with that night, but clearly, her state was not right then. At that time, she had just woken up, was unfamiliar with the strange environment, and even felt like she was dreaming, which was why she lost control so easily.

But what about Mu Qingchen? From what she had learned in this time, she was an extremely self-disciplined and rational woman. How could such a person be reeking of alcohol and stumble into the wrong hotel room?

And in that state, and in the way she threw herself onto her. Thinking back carefully—no, she didn’t even need to think carefully to conclude that Mu Qingchen was not very clear-headed at the time and was very likely drugged by someone else.

However, they were currently only bed partners. Nicely put, they were in a relationship like lovers; crudely put, they were just a collaboration or a mutually beneficial arrangement. So, she had no standing, no right to interfere with Mu Qingchen’s private life, but subconsciously, recalling the woman who was not in her right mind that night, Qiu Wan did not want President Mu to go through that situation again.

Mu Qingchen was stunned by the words, looking at Qiu Wan’s serious expression. Involuntarily, she also recalled that not-so-beautiful, yet unforgettable night that happened by chance. It was then that she remembered her best friend and Zhou Lanlan blocking her at the Sise Bar.

“You’re giving it to someone else anyway, why not give it to me?”

Such an utterly irresponsible and extremely vulgar comment had actually come from the sister she valued the most. If it hadn’t been Qiu Wan that night, but someone else a man or a woman she couldn’t even imagine.

Mu Qingchen’s pupils suddenly dilated, as if she had glimpsed the truth she was most unwilling to admit in the depths of her heart. If that person hadn’t been Qiu Wan, she definitely couldn’t have accepted it. No one could accept why she would have such a thought.

Her heart suddenly clenched. Was she walking the suspension bridge again? But why was the other end of the suspension bridge only Qiu Wan? Why could it only be Qiu Wan? Why was she only willing for that person to be Qiu Wan? She didn’t think she was someone who would fall in love at first sight. Her knowledge over the past 20-plus years told her that love at first sight was only about the face. Then what about them? What did they have besides their faces? Recalling their harmonious life as bed partners, Mu Qingchen’s face darkened.

It definitely wasn’t what she thought. How could she be such a shallow person? She repeatedly denied it in her heart, and the look on her face became colder and colder. In the end, a hint of displeasure even emerged, and her tone carried a trace of avoidance and impatience: “You are being too nosy. Since the contract is signed, go back to your own place.” With that, she was the first to leave the meeting room.

Qiu Wan was stunned in place. This familiar feeling was exactly the same as the morning it was practically using her and then discarding her, crossing the river and then dismantling the bridge!

She gave a self-mocking smile, looked at the empty room, and quietly picked up the contract before leaving the meeting room. The company did not prepare dedicated offices for artists, but there were individual or collective rest rooms.

Given Qiu Wan’s previous status, she obviously wasn’t qualified to have her own individual rest room, but things were different now. However, the company staff didn’t know that things were different for her now.

So, after exiting the meeting room, she paused and pondered where to go.

Fortunately, Yu Baishu wasn’t incompetent. She immediately came over, thoughtfully arranged a single rest room, and then informed Jin Wen, asking her to discuss the next plan with her artist.

Jin Wen organized her files and arrived a little later. When she entered, Qiu Wan was taking a nap. She must have been too tired last night. Young people, they never know when to stop.